Sunday's time change means longer days
By BRENDA SOMMER bsommer@leader-news.com

Those of you who pine for your fair share of sunshine once the work day is done have cause to celebrate. Come Sunday, it's time to spring forward.

Officially the change to daylight saving time should be made at 2 a.m. Sunday, local time, though most folks will reset their clocks and watches before going to bed.

Daylight saving time has been used off and on in the U.S. and in many European countries since World War I, and by 1966, some 100 million Americans were observing daylight saving time based on their local laws and customs. Congress decided that year to step in and end the confusion, and to establish one pattern across the country.

During DST, clocks are turned forward an hour, effectively moving an hour of daylight from the morning to the evening. Daylight saving time does save energy.

Studies done by the U.S. Department of Transportation show that daylight saving time trims the entire country's electricity usage by a small but significant amount, about 1 percent each day, because less electricity is used for lighting and appliances.

A study by the U.S. Law Enforcement Assistance Administration found that crime was consistently less during periods of daylight saving time than during comparable standard time periods. Data showed violent crime down 10 to 13 percent. It is clear that for most crimes where darkness is a factor, such as muggings, there are many more incidents after dusk than before dawn, so light in the evening is most welcome.

The shift to daylight saving time also serves as a reminder to install new batteries in warning devices like smoke detectors and hazard warning radios.

Many fire departments encourage people to change the batteries in their smoke detectors when they change their clocks because daylight saving time provides a convenient reminder. More than 90 percent of homes in the United States have smoke detectors, but onethird are estimated to have dead or missing batteries.

President George W. Bush signed the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which changed the timechange dates beginning in 2007, to start the second Sunday in March and end on the first Sunday in November.

Some parts of the country don't observe daylight time. Those include Arizona, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam and the Northern Marianas.

In areas that do observe daylight time, standard time will return on Nov. 2.